Persian, Oriental, & Fine Wool Rug Cleaning
We are now the first and presently the only carpet cleaning company in Illinois to have achieved accreditation and certification for the proper care and handling of Persian, Oriental, and Fine Wool Rugs through the IICRC sponsored Fine Wool Rug Care Training. Our in-plant process is the only method to properly clean all wool rugs. Most homeowners are not aware that the typical carpet cleaner will most likely cause more irrepairable damage to their fine wool rugs by employing incorrect cleaning methods and incorrect chemistry. Essentially, wool rugs require aggressive yet delicate care and appropriate chemistry to clean them accurately.
The price you pay for a fine wool rug may not accurately reflect the true cost of that rug. Most fine wool rugs are Persian or Oriental. For eg. There are other rugs, such as those from Spain for instance, where rug making was introduced in 711 AD. A true Persian rug came from present day Iran, where many of the same families, clans, and villages have produced the same patterns employing the same hand woven techniques for over 2500 years. A high quality hand-woven rug of about 9′ by 12′ could take 3 weavers working 10 hours per day 6 days per week over a year to complete. You may pay retail anywhere from $300.00 to as high several thousand dollars for that rug. The price paid should have been significantly higher, however, the prices are ”artificially” low due to extremely low labor rates in the Asian and Chinese markets. Proper cleaning and appropriate care is not related to the price paid for the rug. We have had clients who purchased hand woven rugs for $100.00, and then paid over $200.00 to have us properly clean them.
The steps to clean fine wool rugs are:
1. Dusting, which essentially means thorough vacuuming and beating.
2. Pre-soak in a low pH bath to control dye migration. This step helps to limit dye bleeding.
3. Soak in bath of fine fabric cleaning shampoo-type of solution, again with very low pH (strong acidity)
4. Aggressively agitate and scrub with heavy foaming solution and brush.
5. Rinse completely and rinse, rinse, rinse.
6. Check for effectiveness of cleaning.
7. Return to step #2 if necessary.
8. Remove excess water with wringing machine
9. Thoroughly extract and rinse with high-powered extraction machine.
10. Dry on floor with face fibers facing floor.
11. Speed dry with high velocity air moving equipment
12. Check for stains and any color adjustment which may be required.
13. Upon approval from client, adjust color if possible.
14. Speed dry.